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Munslow’s Highs and Lows

The Wheel sat down with Editor-in-Chief Julia Munslow (18C) as she packed up her office to reflect on her time on the paper and at Emory. An English and creative writing major, Munslow served as executive editor, arts and entertainment editor and assistant arts and entertainment editor. She has earned two awards for her journalism: her photos of the 2016 Trump chalkings protest won an SPJ Mark of Excellence for Breaking News Photography, and she co-wrote an article that won first place for Best News Article Based on Investigative Reporting in the Georgia Press Association’s 2017 Better Newspaper Contest for coverage of the Spring 2017 student government elections. This transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Parth Mody/Photo Editor

Janvi Pamnani, The Emory Wheel: Netflix or Chill?

Julia Munslow: Netflix. I haven’t had time to watch much Netflix lately, but I’m hoping to catch up over break.

EW: What’s your favorite spot in Atlanta?

JM: The BeltLine, specifically the area between Piedmont Park and Ponce City Market. The summer after my sophomore year, I was in Atlanta and I was living right around Piedmont Park. I would walk [along] the BeltLine to Ponce City Market, do this outdoor yoga class with one of my friends and then we would go to Ponce afterward and get smoothies or dinner.

JM: I’ve had a lot of really good conversations with really good friends, late at night, usually sitting somewhere that overlooks a landscape outside. That’s one of the reasons the top of Carlos Museum is one of my favorite spots on campus. I’ve had a lot of good conversations there, late at night. Sitting on friends’ balconies or roofs and just looking out over landscapes and seeing the stars at night — those are my favorite memories.

EW: What’s your favorite class you’ve taken at Emory?

JM: I really love my poetry workshops. [They’re] technically more than one class, but the formats [are] really similar.

EW: What would you do with your time if you didn’t spend it on the Wheel?

JM: I’d still be writing, but I’d probably be spending a bit more time working on my creative writing, poetry [and] doing more photography because that‘s always been something that I’ve loved. But since I took over as [editor-in-chief], I haven’t had much time to do that. But I love street photography, just going out in the city of Atlanta and taking photos of everything.

EW: What’s a book you think everyone should read and why?

JM: I’m going to check my Goodreads and cheat. I think that everyone should read “This Is How You Lose Her” [by] Junot Diaz because it’s a beautiful book, and I think it challenges a lot of assumptions that people have. The other book that I would recommend would be “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr. There are a lot of different gems throughout [Doerr’s] book — moments and sentences — and the writing is gorgeous. When I recommend books or any literature, I usually look to the moments rather than the overarching narrative, and that’s why I’m interested in poetry and photography because they capture smaller moments instead of a life story. Also, those are the two most recent [books] I can think of.

EW: What’s your favorite movie from the past five years?

JM: “Spotlight.”

EW: What’s your all-time favorite movie?

JM: It’s a French film called “Amelie.”

EW: What’s your favorite Netflix Original?

JM: “Sense 8.”

EW: “Parks and Recreation” or “The Office”?

JM: “The Office.”

EW: Dooley or Swoop?

JM: Dooley.

EW: Pineapple on pizza: Yea or nay?

JM: Yes, always pineapple on pizza.

EW: What’s your favorite music to listen to during production?

JM: I actually have a production playlist, and it’s kind of an assortment of everything. [Managing Editor Alisha Compton (19C)] actually describes it as “girl pop.” It’s a lot of indie covers and fun pop music to keep me awake and motivated. We made a fun playlist for Valentine’s Day for production where everyone just kind of collaborated and added a bunch of songs to the same Spotify playlist.

EW: What do you feel was your most accomplished moment on the Wheel, and why?

JM: That’s a hard one. I don’t know if there’s one particular moment, but I’m really proud of the team that I’ve built and the people that I’m leaving behind, in terms of helping prepare them [and] helping train them just across the board. … I hope that [what I have done] will help to sustain the Wheel and the standard of excellence we uphold in the years to come.

EW: If there’s one thing you could change about your time on the Wheel, what would it be?

JM: I wish I had more time.

EW: Do you have any parting words of wisdom for the rest of the Wheel’s staff?

JM: Don’t give up, which is a little bit cliche. I actually have this quote that I keep [on my wall]. I can see it. No one else can. This is something I remind myself of a lot and would ask [the Wheel’s staff] to remind themselves of as well. The quote is, “I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy. I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it,” by Art Williams. I believe that journalism is important, because it is.